Ben Shirley
Ben Shirley is an African-American corporal serving under Captain Henry Patterson in the 3 ID 3rd Armour BDE. Profile Early Life Ben was born into a large family in the Bronx, New York (date unspecified, although presumably during the early 1920's). He had an extensive family, with four of his brothers, Michael, Joseph, Chris and Kevin, as well as two cousins, George Stevens and Eric Stuwards, signing up to fight alongside him. His father, Christopher Shirley, was a soldier and aqquaintance of Logan Castle's, currently M.I.A. He had one sister, Anne Shirley. Military Career: The 49th (British) Infantry Division "]] Ben was initially drafted into the British Army, serving in the 49th Infantry Division under Canadian officer Aiden Jacka. This period in his military career was less than glorious; he got off to a notoriously bad start with the unit's commander and CSM (partly due to Mark Davies' bitter dislike of the Americans) and later suffered a defeat in a skirmish near Bir Hacheim, Africa. During this battle, a young friend of his, Mack Smith, was killed, causing Ben to spiral temporarily into depression. During his stay in the 49th Infantry Division, however, he did manage to befriend one man; the Scotsman Logan D. Castle, an old comrade of his father's. One one notable occasion, the two sought shelter together during a bombing raid of the London Blitz. Military Career: The 3rd (U.S) Infantry Division Shirley was soon transferred to the U.S Army (possibly involuntarily; it is implied that he was forced to leave the 49th ID due to incompetence). He met up with the unit's X0 Nicholas Ealing in a vehicle garage and, once again, failed to make a good impression on his superior. Using urban slang, speaking in a "hip-hop" accent and showing a surprising lack of discipline or respect, Ealing was left bewildered in his company. He left Sergeant Major Andrew Ryan similarly baffled when they met. On leave in England, he came across young German orphan Oliver von Trapp and also met Private Stephen Colly during a routine check-up. Along with fellow corporal Robert Anderson, he helped organize a surprise birthday party for Captain Patterson and later, drafted out to the front line, earned his third consecutive failed battle. He performed more admirably during an Axis ambush on a 3ID halftrack in which he managed to, more or less, keep his cool for the duration of the skirmish. Despite his dubious battle record, Shirley was skilled enough to be seriously considered to join Operation Stormcrow as the team's marksman by Nicholas Ealing, although Master Sergeant Daniel Brennan was less than thrilled at this suggestion. Capture During the later stages of the war, Ben was stationed at a tiny 3ID barracks in North England under Lieutenant Ealing. When a violent bombing raid took its toll on the barracks, Ben risked his life to free Nicholas from the rubble, more or less saving his life in doing so and, at last, earning his sincere respect. Ben joined Nicholas on the mission to assist the villagers in the immediate aftermath of the air raid but the two were soon seperated when Ben and his brothers left the truck prematurely to help an injured civilian. Ben found himself in the middle of the drop zone of a squad of mysterious German paratroopers (implied to have been sent to assassinate Nicholas Ealing) and played a part in combatting the threat, killing the commander with a single shot of his sniper rifle. During his ambush, he accidentally shot and killed a terrified villager and, horrified at what he had done, was soon set upon by the panicking paratroopers who dragged him (and his brother Kevin) away with them. Nicholas' men attempted to pursue but were unable to track the paratroopers. Ben Shirley was declared officially M.I.A. Category:Operation Stormcrow Category:Characters of Issuing Orders